Owning The Name They Call You

So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite. - Ruth 1:22

A dozen times in this book of the Bible, Ruth is called a Moabite. It’s a short book, so it’s not like we forgot! But over and over again she keeps getting named this way.

Being a Moabite was not a compliment. Think of the emotional impact as somewhere between being called 'alcoholic’ and ‘gang-member.’ The book of Deuteronomy is very clear about ‘those people’:

No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation. - Deuteronomy 23:3.

The irony, of course, is that the Bible over and over breaks its own laws. It seems that the kindness and grace of God cannot be contained in simple ‘do this’ and ‘don’t do that’ statements. And people who get named as ‘outsiders’ inevitably end up called ‘beloved.’ It’s the way of Jesus, right?

So by the time you get to the end of the book of Ruth, we find that she’s the great grandmother of David. So much for none of her descendants being part of the assembly of God’s people!

I can’t help but wonder if part of the reason that Ruth is called a Moabite a dozen times in this little book is to claim that name as a point of pride. (it’s not unlike the words ‘gay’ or ‘queer’ these days which have been reclaimed and repurposed from insults into marks of pride). God wants us all to see that those whom we exclude are actually invited into the story.

Are there names you’ve been called (perhaps inside your own head) that Jesus might want to redeem in this way?